Wednesday, May 28, 2014

I get pretty consistent advice from everyone that patterns must include clear photos which show the whole garment. I also often include stitch detail shots for added clarity. I've recently started testing out my first Ravelry ads using those clear photos. So imagine my surprise when another designer recently told me she has been experimenting with purposely unclear photos that are artsy instead. She says she is getting the strongest click through on partial photos in her Ravelry ads. Does this mean I need a different photo for the ad?

Monday, May 26, 2014

"Being formally qualified is overrated. Passion and results can be the
best credentials there are. When we try to hide out lack of
qualifications we actually weaken the potential strength of our brand.
Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs. All billionaires. All college
dropouts. Jimi Hendrix couldn't read music. Rachael Ray never went to
cooking school. John Fluevog went from working in a shoe store to
creating his own shoe empire."

Danielle Laporte The Fire Starter Sessions

The vest above continues to be my best selling pattern. This is from the April 2014 Patternfish newsletter:

"It’s no surprise to the editor that there are two vests in the top 10 patterns of 2013. I
rarely see a vest I don’t want to knit, and these two are among my favourites, Cabin
Fever’s Side Pattern Vest by Deb Gemmell, and
The Prudence Crowley Vest by Robin Hunter. Gemmell has a wonderful habit of encouraging knitters to apply their own ideas to
patterns and become their own designers. The Side Pattern Vest is a wonderful
example. Hunter’s flattering and surprisingly easy to knit pattern has been a favourite
with Patternfish folk for years."

Deb and I have no formal certification, however we both have unlimited passion and curiosity when it come to our knitting.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Once
a week I post interviews with interesting people about their insights
on their experience of working in the Knitting industry. I’ve noticed
that every one of these individuals makes their living in a slightly
different manner bringing their own unique presence to the knitting
world.

Melissa's business is growing! Her original interview was one of the most read shop owners interviews. It seems appropriate with her recent growth to ask her some new questions and get an update on her adventures in the knitting industry. You can read her original interview here.

You've moved into a new and bigger space, please tell us how that came about?

I
had been sharing a two level space with a lovely gift shop called Wise
Daughters. She carried an array of handmade items by local artists, but
unfortunately, she was unable to continue the business and had to close
her doors. I was faced with the decision to close after only one year
or carry on by taking over the
entire location. I could have found another spot to set up shop, but
this is such a great space and we have a good established relationship
with the owner of the building. After a year of operating in the lower
level of Wise Daughters I felt confident that I could carry the space on
my own. I really didn't even consider closing to be honest as I just
don't see myself doing anything else. I felt that there was enough
support in the community to sustain and continue to grow LadeeBee, so
expanding seemed like the right thing to do.

You run workshops for both adults and kids how do the challenges differ for each group?

Adults
may bring some
challenges to the table when they come to a workshop. I can see that
confidence often has to be fostered quite a bit . I think as we get
older it just becomes harder to learn a new task. We have a lot of
distractions in our lives and slowing down and relaxing to learn a new
skill takes a bit of time. I find that anxiety can really hinder the
learning experience, so I try to make students feel as comfortable and
at ease as possible. Children on the other hand are quite accustomed to a
learning environment and are asked to acquire new skills on a nearly
daily basis. If there is any anxiety it doesn't seem to hinder them
quite as much. Children will generally dive right in to the activity. If
children are genuinely interested in the activity they will be very
quiet and focused and determined to complete the task.

You
are offering a variety of workshops which include topics other than
knitting, how do you describe your shop to potential customers?

LadeeBee
is a one stop destination for crafting inspiration. Because I enjoy a
variety of crafts I have so many different departments in the shop. The
main departments are yarn and beads, but in addition I carry supplies
for cross stitching, embroidery, felting, spinning, and even a small
section for handmade gifts. I think the shop is fun and cheerful and the
idea is to assist my customers to scratch their crafting itch when they
feel like making something.

Is the shop equally split between the various crafts or is one more strongly represented?

I
would say at the moment that yarn and fibre has the most representation
in the shop. There is potential to expand the beading department in the
lower level to give each department more or less a 50/50 representation
with other crafts supported minimally.

Sundays
are your Stitching Bee days, which are open to all craft pursuits not
just knitting, is this event drawing in more customers for you?

It's a really important event for me in many ways. The people that come regularly on Sunday
are my core supporters. They offer this support by being my sounding
board, generating activity ideas (such as the Mother's Day Tea Cozy
Exhibit), they were there to help me set up when I expanded, and they
are a nice group for me to engage with socially. I think its nice for
other customers to see the shop active and busy so it brings a positive
vibe to the shop. It doesn't necessarily bring in new customers
directly, but as you can see it is an important group.

Could you tell us a little about upcoming workshops that are being
planned?

We
always run a beginner knitting and crochet course on alternate months.
This month we are running a beginner crochet course. Coming up we have
an embroidery workshop, needle felted gnome workshop, a pendant making
class, wet felted bowls, beaded bracelets with memory wire, crochet
booties, a top down knitted raglan cardigan course, a seaming techniques
class for knitters, and a crochet floral necklace workshop. Phew! As
you can see we like to have some core classes for knitters and
crocheters with some jewelry making and other needlework workshops as
well. Every month we will have the different crafts represented in this
way in our programming.

ETA Melissa has invited me to teach an introductory lace knitting class on June 14 1 - 4. It will be added to her website soon.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Blocking makes all the difference to ensure stitch patterns show up in lace shawls. It will improve the look of your knitting for most projects, especially those made from natural fibres.The two shawls in the photos above are unblocked.Start by soaking the knitting in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes. I add a small amount of a wool wash. I usually use Soak but there are several good ones on the market.

I next remove most of the water from the knitting. I put the work resting and hanging freely on top of my tap to let most of the water flow away for 2-3 minutes.

Then I gently press the water
out by rolling up the work in a towel and squeezing. I treat the work carefully, no twisting or wringing. I unroll the towel after about 5 minutes.

I use the blocking boards in my photos, stainless steel T pins and blocking wires.

I pin out the work using the straight edges, For a triangle shawl that would be the top and the centre spine. I do the top edges first. I gently tug on the spine to make it perpendicular. I make sure these target areas are totally straight and securely pinned before I work on the lower edges. I run the wires through the top edges and use pins in both the work and to secure the wires.

Once all the edges are straight I begin pinning out the shawl points.
I thread the wires into each point or along the edges if they are straight ones. I tug gently to stretch the work and I may move the bottom edges down again as the work relaxes. I adjust the level of stretch according to the fibre I'm working with. I pull more firmly on 100% wool than I do with silk and cashmere.

I assess and if everything looks good in terms of being in alignment I search for a place to leave the item that my cats can't get at until is is completely dry.

Yes... cats do have a thing for wet yarn, I don't know why.

Occasionally I do a second pass on the points. Sometimes they need a little extra work because the horizontal stretching interferes with the points being pulled down far enough. The silver grey shawl is a silk and sea cell blend. The point definition was good on the first pass. The purple shawl is silk and cashmere. I did not block it as firmly because of its delicate nature. I took a second pass after it dried the first time and worked on the points only. On the final blocking I moved the points closer together so I could pull a little more firmly, vertically. I smoothed the rest of the shawl away gently with my hands. I pinned each point and used a spray bottle of water to dampen the work at the edges only and then I let the points dry again before I took the work off of the blocking boards.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Once
a week I post interviews with interesting people about their insights
on their experience of working in the Knitting industry. I’ve noticed
that every one of these individuals makes their living in a slightly
different manner bringing their own unique presence to the Knitting
world.

Anna is a mainstream fashion designer who has worked in Italy and the United States for major fashion houses as well as developing and launching a line
of sustainable women's apparel. She is a graduate of FIT in New York and
Polimoda in Italy. Anna's designs have been featured in
Vogue, Elle France, Nylon, WWD and the New York Times.Since 2008, Anna has been working with
the historic Imperial Stock Ranch, helping to develop woolen yarns and
fabrics, to create the in house Imperial Knits Collection of hand knit
patterns and to build a line of women's apparel featuring woolens that
were developed on the ranch. This line, the Imperial Collection by Anna Cohen, will launch in Fall 2014.

Do you look at other designers' work
or are you afraid that you will be influenced by their designs?

I
didn’t want to look at other designer’s work before I got an education
in design. I then learned that looking at other’s work is a very
critical part of the process. Artists of many kinds learn from the
masters, try to copy them in order to learn the craft. Once they are
able to do this, they then have the skills and vision to be able to
create their own style.

How many sample/test knitters do you
have working for you or do you do it all yourself?

Because
I am a fashion designer with a specialty in knitwear (apparel
production knitwear) and barely hand knit, I work with a technical
interpreter to write the patterns and then we have various different
test knitters test the samples. We work with between 1 and 4 test
knitters in a season.

What advice
would you give someone who wants to pursue a career in knitting?

Follow
your heart and your mind. Shifting your relationship with a hobby into a
means of income is an important consideration. If you are not business
minded in one form or another, it is likely best to keep your hobby a
hobby. If you are driven and inspired and have great ideas for how to
build the business, and you can ask yourself if you would be motivated
to do it if it weren’t about knitting, then I say go for it. The fire in
you needs to be balanced between the business aspect and the creative,
otherwise I suggest not to taint your creative outlet with a costly and
in many cases difficult journey.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

What is a provisional cast-on? It's a cast on which
leaves live stitches at the edge. There are a few situations where you might want this set up for your knitting. Sometimes you want to be able to knit in the opposite
direction. Many designs use multi-directional methods. I use a provisional cast on for garter stitch tab shawl starts. I also use one if I want to graft stitches at the top and bottom of the knitting together to create a tube. Many knitters swear by the crochet chain method. It's good, but I often hear knitters say they have problems picking up into the wrong loop which creates difficulties when they go to unzip the crochet chain. Look here for technique videos and tutorials on this method.My favourite method is the waste yarn technique. I find this method is the easiest to teach to other knitters. I used the waste yarn method often when I was machine knitting. I also used it in a hat workshop to teach grafting skills quickly. Seeing the path of the waste yarn speeds up the understanding of how to use a sewing needle to duplicate the path of the strand of yarn. I'll show you that in an upcoming post.The reason waste yarn works so well for provisional casting on is that the knitted loops which will be worked in the opposite direction are more well matched to the knitting. A few rows of straight knitting means the knitters gauge becomes a little more even.

Just cast on the number of stitches required in any method you like, knit a few rows of stocking stitch and switch to your project yarn. When you are ready to go in the opposite direction use a smaller needle to catch each stitch in the first row of your project yarn. You can clip the waste yarn out either before or after catching the loops on your needle. I use a sharp pair of small scissors and cut the waste yarn and pull it out of my project yarn stitches.

If
you are a knitter who has done any grafting of stitches top to bottom, you know there
is one little detail about the up and down directionality of the knitted loops. There is a mismatch of one stitch. My fix for that is to take the yarn tail of the project yarn and thread it through at the beginning of the work like this:

I cast on 10 stitches put my needle through the 9 loops that created and added the 10th stitch by putting the yarn tail on a needle and threading it at the edge of the work.

9 Stitches from the 10 stitch cast on

Stitch 10 was created with a needle

Extra tips:

Use waste yarn of the same weight as the project yarn to maintain a matching gauge.

Use waste yarn of a highly contrasting colour to make picking up the stitches easier

Monday, May 12, 2014

I was talking to a knitter recently who had some problems with a pattern due to errata.It got me wondering what the actual rate of errata is for patterns. Most of my peers in the Pro-Knitters group are pretty clear that it is unrealistic to think we won't have some errata in our patterns. Patterns are often a collaborative process and we depend on others with fresh perspectives to point out errors. In my case three people including myself work on my patterns. The scary part, each one of us finds different errors. Some of those errors will impact knit-ability so I think of them as critical. Others are copy edit or layout errors. They are not so important but I want to avoid those as well.

Here's the unscientific part. I took two online knitting magazines and randomly checked ten patterns for listed errata. I chose only garment patterns, all published between 2010 and 2013. One had an errata rate of six out of ten patterns listed errata on their site. The other had one out of ten. This is totally unscientific with a sample base too small to generalize statistically so I won't name the publications. The rate of error could be between 10% and 60% based on these results.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Once
a week I post interviews with interesting people about their insights
on their experience of working in the Knitting industry. I’ve noticed
that every one of these individuals makes their living in a slightly
different manner bringing their own unique presence to the Knitting
world.

Your finishing business is a unique twist on making an
income from knitting could you tell us how it came to be?

Knitting has been a
big part of my life ever since my elementary school teacher (who remains my
best friend today), Carol, taught me how to knit in a lunchtime knitting
program. Since then, I have worked in six beautiful yarn shops, ranging in
location from New Jersey, to Manhattan. When I graduated from college, I wasn’t
sure what direction my career path would take. However, as my grandfather used
to tell me, “Find your skill and use it.”

After
learning the knitwear business while participating in several trade shows, I
discovered there was a real need for an official knitwear finishing company.
Quilters send their quilts out to be lined; needle pointers outsource
pillows—Why not provide knitters with a similar finishing service? Unlike many
knitters, I thoroughly enjoy knitwear finishing. I believe the finishing aspect
of knitting and believe that the finishing is what makes the difference between
a product that is “handmade” versus “homemade.”

Do you have any funny finishing disaster stories that you
can share with us?

I can’t say I have
encountered any disasters, but of course funny occurrences do pop up every once
in a while! It’s always fun, for instance, when I receive a sweater with two
right fronts! Of course, whenever things like this happen, I always contact my
customer so we can decide on the perfect solution. Each item is unique, so when
bumps in the road do appear, it is time to get creative. I can say that
sweaters have been turned into Afghans and scarves! My aim is to avoid any
finishing disasters. For example, I once received a sweater that was knit
beautifully. I knew, however, based on the dimensions the sweater was never
going to fit the man for whom it was intended. In situations like this, I am
always upfront and honest. I would never want an unhappy customer, so I work
very hard to catch all potential “disasters” before they have the chance to
occur.

Your customers say your finishing skills are impeccable,
could you share a few tips about how you got so good at finishing?

The first knitting
store I worked at offered finishing services for their customers, and I learned
through hands-on practice how to efficiently seam sweaters and properly pick up
stitches. Whenever I teach classes, I always begin by asking my students to
think back to when they first learned how to knit. I’ve found that most
beginners cast on a few stitches and practice the knit stitch over and over
again. At first their knitting is a bit uneven, but as they progress, their knitting
becomes increasingly consistent. The same trend applies to finishing, although
it is not everyday that one gets to assemble a sweater. I have created specific
formulas that clearly lay out all the steps needed to properly seam any garment
(as no knitted items are the same), and I give those formulas away when I teach
my classes. I don’t want to keep any secrets- I would much rather the knitters
learn from me!

Your other income source is teaching, what level of
knitter do you focus on in your classes?

Along with knitwear
finishing, teaching is a big passion of mine. My “Flawless Finishing” class,
targets beginner to intermediate knitters, and has become quite popular. I am
high energy and have a very positive outlook, and with my background in English
and Special Education, I find that I am able to teach knitting skills to anyone
and everyone. I attribute my teaching success to my belief that there are at
least ten different ways to teach any given skill, which is so important, since
everyone learns differently. When I teach a class, my main goal is to ensure
that all students walks away with the “WOW,” factor as they grow as knitters
and watch the magic of knitwear finishing unfold.

Please tell us a little about your teaching philosophy.

A big part of my
teaching philosophy comes from all of the special education classes I took when
I was obtaining my undergraduate degree. My main motto is that everyone can learn,
just in different ways. I make
sure to accommodate the needs of all my learners.

You also have an exclusive color, line of yarns available
for purchase. There is a fund raising component in your yarn sales.
Please tell us about the inspiration for this color way and where the donations
go.

Yes! I am a very open person, and will be
upfront and say that I battle with anxiety on a daily basis. The one thing I
learned from my battle with anxiety is that you cannot let it control your
life. Knitting and knitwear
finishing calms me. As for my color, Zen Yarn Garden is one of my favorite yarn
companies out there. Both their base yarns and colors are INCREDIBLE, and I
was honored when the owners Roxanne and Neville agreed to let me create a
custom color for Knits All Done. The color is called “Keep Calm Keith,” and
instead of taking a photo of a landscape or flower and turning it into a color,
I decided to take the word “anxiety” and turn it into the ultimate blue! The
color is a dark black blue. The black represents anxiety, and the vibrant blue
represents growth and expansion. I donate 5% of yarn sales to Boston
Universities Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. I discovered this center
while researching anxiety on Google, and was amazed by what it does for those
who suffer on an extreme level.

Your web site is beautifully presented. Did you design it?

Thank You! Yes.
When I first decided to start Knits All Done, I hired a graphic designer to
create a clean and crisp logo (which I wanted to be an accurate representation
of the work that I do). As for the website, I got out some HTML books and spent
many months learning how to configure the pages. The biggest factor was
learning how to incorporate the online web-store into the website. Knits All
Done is completely operated by myself, which means I do all the social media,
photography, paperwork, and of course the finishing! The website is absolutely
due for an upgrade as I have well over 300 beautiful photos of finished items
to upload!

Did you do a formal business plan?

I did. My formal
business plan was typed up on Microsoft word, and included every element of my
vision for what I wanted Knits All Done to be. From time to time I still glance
at it, just to reflect on all that has been accomplished!

Do you have a mentor?

Absolutely! I have
many! Within the industry, the first person I went to with the idea of Knits
All Done was designer and teacher Melissa Leapman, who guided me through the
process, and continues to offer the best advice out there. Franklin Habit is another great friend
who is always there to provide advice. My Friend Shaina Bilow taught me many of
my finishing skills and was a huge support system, as she helped me get Knits
All Done off the ground. Other
friends have helped along the way, include my dear friend Tara, a fellow
knitter who is also Knits All Done’s PR manager, Angela, my editor, and of
course Carol, the woman who started it all! While I’m at it, I would also like
to thank my favorite English Professor, Professor Golland. Without her, I would
not have the writing skills to participate in fun interviews such as this!

How do you maintain your life/work balance?

This is something I
am still trying to figure out! I wake up early and go to sleep VERY late. As of
right now, I work around the clock. I always make time for friends and family,
but to be quite honest, I love what I do so much that it doesn’t even feel like
work. I pride myself on my fast turnaround time, and every day I am on the
phone talking with knitters around the country so I can help them whenever they
need to be helped. I learn from every customer, as I find that every knitter
has a different story. In an effort to better maintain an appropriate life/work
balance, I plan to start setting stricter work hours for myself. This will be
the best way to keep my energy levels high, and maybe even get in some personal
knitting time!

How do you deal with criticism?

I am a very
positive person, and honestly haven’t come across any criticism thus far.
Criticism is exactly what I wanted to avoid when starting my company. I know
that the knitting world can be very competitive, and I wanted to create
something unique and different that I can call my own, without leaving any room
for negativity. With that said, I strive to make ever customer happy and am
always welcoming of constructive feedback.

How long did it take for you to be able to support
yourself?

At this time I can
honestly say that I am fully supporting myself. In late February, I flew to
Florida to teach a series of classes at “A Good Yarn Sarasota.” Considering my
love for Florida, I felt it was time to make the move to the Sunshine State!
During the moving process, I still worked everyday and even brought finishing
projects on the airplane with me. Knits All Done now has its own studio in
Florida, equipped with 4 blocking boards. The beautiful knits I have been
receiving daily here continue to spark my creative energy.

What advice would you give someone who wants to pursue a
career in knitting?

I would tell that
person to work hard! One of my favorite inspirational phrases is “Keep Moving
Forward.” The knitting world is filled with creative energy, so much energy
that you really have to push through and invest yourself if you want to
succeed. I am a strong believer that every knitter has his or her own specific
talent within the knitting world. My advice would be to find it—and share it
with the world!

About Me

email contact robinknits(AT)gmail(dot)com
I've been knitting my whole life. I don't even remember learning. I started making garments for myself in my teens and then explored sewing, tailoring and millinery. I want to teach knitters about fit and flattery and turn them into fashion stars!
On my blog you will find lots of interviews with knitting industry professionals, how to tutorials and a variety of posts about what's going on in the knitting world.
I love to come out and speak at shops and guilds. Here's what the Downtown Knit collective said after one of my talks:
“Robin Hunter’s inspiring talk, “The Barbie Factor,” left everyone in a feel-good mood at the conclusion of the May meeting. Heads were nodding in agreement all around ... as she tackled a multi-faced problem faced by many knitters—why don’t we knit for ourselves? She touched on many topics including fashion, body image, media and how it all relates back to our knitting.”
You can see my patterns on http://www.patternfish.com/des/robin_hunter and you can find me on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/people/knittingrobin
My YouTube channel is here:http://www.youtube.com/user/robinknits?feature=mhee